But I'm not. In fact, spending consistent time in the Word has been the most challenging part of my summer. Taking out time for prayer has not been easy. Even engaging in conversations about the Lord hasn't been my favorite thing to do. I've been learning (and this probably sounds really obvious) that just because I'm in ministry doesn't mean that my relationship with God will be elevated. Just because I'm emptying myself out to all of these children doesn't mean I will automatically be filled.
It's so easy for me to justify skipping out on my quiet time. I spend all day in the church, with kids, teaching Bible lessons...that should count, right? I'm so exhausted when I get home or when I wake up. I just don't want to read my Bible. I'm sure I looked at a few verses today... this is what my mind does every time the Holy Spirit convicts me. I start rationalizing and justifying. And I've gotten really good at it.
But God is always faithful.
Praise Him for that! I am making excuses about spending time with my Father, my Creator. How much more selfish could I be? Yet, He is always here, waiting for me to fall back into His loving embrace. The devotional that we planned for tonights Net meeting is focusing on the compassion of God. This morning, we all spent about an hour talking about this attribute and how it effects our lives. It's something I don't think about enough. Everything about God screams compassion. Why am I constantly Hosea's wife...a whore, running away from my first love? Thankfully, I serve a compassionate God, who is consistently alluring me and bringing me back to Him, just like the Lord had mercy on Israel. He heals my waywardness and loves me freely.
"Come, let us return to the Lord;
for he has torn us, that he may heal us;
he has struck us down, and he will bind us up...
...Let us know; let us press on to knowthe Lord;
his going out is sure as the dawn;
he will come to us as the showers,
as the spring rains that water the earth."
-Hosea 6:1, 3
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